4o8 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



["Oct 19, 1888. 



Alcohol diluted down to 4 per cent., and in quantities of 

 about 8 fluid ozs., if it does not assist digestion certainly 

 does not impede it. At the strength of 10 per cent, it 

 has a perceptible, and at 20 per cent, a very decided, 

 impeding action. Beer, up to about 26 fluid ozs., has the 

 same action as highly diluted alcohol. Red wine, up to 17 

 fluid ozs. (2 litre), has the same action as beer. White 

 wine assists digestion. The most favourable action is 

 that of coffee and tea. 



Fluorine and Vegetation. — Among the principles 

 found in the ash of many vegetables, especially cereals, 

 fluorine has not yet attracted the attention of agricul- 

 turists. What part does it play ? Is it necessary to 

 examine if it could be usefully added to the soil like the 

 phosphatic and potassic manures ? These are questions 

 which, says La Nature, we cannot answer. It is, there- 

 fore, with much interest that we have read a pamphlet 

 on calcium fluoride and its use as a manure, published 

 by M. Dussan, a farmer in the Basses Pyrenees. M. 

 Dussan informs us that in experiments carried on for 

 three years upon wheat, maize, potatoes, clover, and 

 lucern, calcium fluoride, along with phosphates and salts 

 of potash, confer a remarkable energy upon vegetation. 

 Wc may here remark that many of the phosphatic 

 minerals employed in the manufacture of superphosphates 

 contain an appreciable quantity of fluorine, all of which 

 is scarcely expelled in the process. 



A Dearth of Frogs. — It happens this year that frogs 

 are scarce. Perhaps the sharp night-frost of October 2nd 

 has driven them earlier than usual to bury themselves 

 for the winter. No general lament is to be expected for 

 the reduced numbers of a rather unpopular creature, but 

 the directors of our now numerous physiological and 

 biological laboratories are much bothered to get a suffi- 

 cient supply of the " martyr of science." This leads us 

 to ask why the dealers do not adopt a simple precaution 

 which would enable them to collect frogs at any season, 

 and keep them till wanted. Frogs become torpid at a 

 moderately low temperature, and by sinking them to the 

 depth at which the earth possesses an invariable degree 

 of warmth, they may be kept almost indefinitely without 

 consciousness or wasting. A pit about 4 ft. deep, covered 

 by a stout wooden lid at the surface, and another near 

 the bottom, answers very well. The frogs should be 

 placed twenty or so together in boxes lined with dead 

 leaves. Anyone who tries this plan may count upon a 

 supply whatever the state of the weather. 



Literary Announcements. — An important new work, 

 entitled " Practical Surveying," by George W. Usill, 

 AM.I.C.E., will shortly be issued by Messrs. Crosby 

 Lockvvood and Son, London. It will form a text-book 

 for students preparing for examinations or the colonies. 

 The same publishers also announce for immediate pub- 

 lication — " Antiseptics : a Handbook for Nurses," by 

 Annie M. Hewer, diplomee of the Obstetrical Society of 

 London ; " The Mechanical Engineer's Office Book," by 

 Nelson Foley, second edition, much enlarged ; "Turning," 

 a text-book on the elementary principles and practice of 

 using the lathe, with numerous engravings and diagrams, 

 by P. N. Hasluck ; " The Model Engineer's Handybook," 

 by P. N. Hasluck ; " The Clock Jobber's Handybook," by 

 P. N. Hasluck ; "The Cabinet Worker's Handybook," by 



P. N. Hasluck ; and also the following works in their 

 popular " Weale's Rudimentary Series " : — " The Art ol 

 Practical Brick Cutting and Setting," by Adam Hammond, 

 author of "Practical Bricklaying," with ninety engrav- 

 ings ; " Plumbing : a Text-Book to the Practice of the Art 

 or Craft of the Plumber," by William Paton Buchan, fifth 

 edition ; " Modern Workshop Practice," by J. G. Winton. 



A Mysterious Illumination. — The White Star steamer 

 Britannic, which arrived at Queenstown on October nth, 

 en route for New York, reports that at 9 30 on Wednes- 

 day night, when off South Arklow, a most singular 

 phenomenon was observed in the heavens by the captain, 

 officers, and passengers who were on deck at the time. 

 The sky to the westward, which was perfectly dark, no 

 stars being visible, became suddenly illuminated with a 

 brilliant light of a pale yellowish hue, which lasted for 

 fully fifteen minutes, gradually changing into a fiery red 

 colour, which appeared to be the reflection of a large 

 ship in flames. The captain and officers, who had never 

 witnessed such a strange sight before, and not knowing 

 but that they were in the vicinity of a burning vessel, 

 altered the course of the Britannic somewhat, so as to 

 bring her more in the direction of the place from which 

 the glare seemed to arise. In a few minutes the fiery 

 red colour became divided into two sections, which 

 appeared disturbed by flutterings, and gradually di- 

 minished into a small clear white light resembling that 

 of a steamer's masthead light, which faded into darkness, 

 and the entire illumination disappeared. 



The Public Health. — The Registrar-General's return 

 for the week ending October 6th, shows that the deaths 

 registered during tnat period in 28 great towns ot Eng- 

 land and Wales corresponded to an annual rate of i8 - z 

 per 1,000 of their aggregate population, which is esti- 

 mated at 9,398,273 persons in the middle of this year. 

 The six healthiest places were Oldham, Nottingham, 

 Wolverhampton, Bristol, Huddersfield, and Birmingham. 

 In London 2,413 births and 1,352 deaths were registered. 

 Allowance made for increase of population, the births 

 were 300 and the deaths 106 below the average numbers 

 in the corresponding weeks of the last ten years. The 

 annual death-rate per 1,000 from all causes, which had 

 been i5"8 and i6'o in the two preceding weeks, further 

 rose last week to 16-5. During the 13 weeks of last 

 quarter the death-rate averaged 16-2 per 1,000, and was 

 3 - 4 below the mean rate in the corresponding periods ot 

 the ten years 1878-87. The 1,352 deaths included 39 

 from measles, 24 from scarlet fever, 35 from diphtheria, 

 five from whooping cough, one from typhus, eight from 

 enteric fever, 72 from diarrhcea and dysentery, and not 

 one from smallpox, ill-defined forms of continued fever, 

 or cholera ; thus 184 deaths were referred to these 

 diseases, being 2 1 below the corrected average weekly 

 number. In Greater London 3,190 births and 1,680 

 deaths were registered, corresponding to annual rates ot 

 30-1 and 15-9 per 1,000 of the estimated population. In 

 the outer ring 23 deaths from diarrhcea, seven from fever, 

 seven from whooping cough, six from diphtheria, and six 

 from measles were registered. The deaths from diarrhcea 

 included five in West Ham, four in Croydon, and three 

 in Walthamstow sub-districts. The 20 deaths in Totten- 

 ham sub-district included three from fever, and three 

 from whooping cough. Three fatal cases of measles 

 occurred in Epsom, and two of diphtheria both in God- 

 stone and in Walthamstow sub-districts. 



